TOPIC
:Programs

The Copyright Office is now accepting further public comments on the issue of orphan works and mass digitization. The Office held public meetings earlier this month, which, by various accounts, were heated at times. Interested members of the public wishing to submit comments can find more information and the electronic submission form here. Comments are due by April 14, 2014.

The Copyright Office is hosting an excellent, *free* Copyright Year in Review program on December 4 at 2 p.m. It is open to the public – and did I mention it’s *free*? The panelists are the always knowledeable and witty Bob Clarida and Tom Kjellberg. Bob and Tom have been killing it at the annual Copyright Society meetings for well over a decade (as long as I’ve been in attendance) and their presentation is always a highlight of the meeting. This program is definitely worth your while if you’re going to be in DC on the 4th and would like to brush up on recent copyright developments. Alas, the rest of us will have to wait until next June at the Copyright Society Annual Meeting. Sign up now, thank me later! http://www.copyright.gov/copyrightmatters/copy_litigation.html

My esteemed partner, Lawrence Siskind, will be delivering his annual talk, “Nuts and Bolts of Trademark Law,” at the San Francisco Bar Association on July 12, 2012 from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. It doesn’t get any more fun than this! I’ve attended before, and the program is both entertaining and informative. Register now and tell Larry that Shades of Gray sent you!

I have been an active member of the Copyright Society of the USA for years, and am currently a member of its Executive Committee. It’s a terrific group for those interested in copyright issues, and maintains chapters throughout the country. I thought readers of this blog might like to know about this upcoming chapter event in Washington, D.C.:

The Washington D.C. Chapter of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. is holding a membership building event on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Arent Fox LLP, 1050 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, will host the event.
There will be a networking reception from 4: p.m. to 4:30 p.m, followed by the panel discussion from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Lawyers who submitted amici briefs to the Second Circuit in the pending appeal of Viacom/Football Association Premier League v. YouTube will debate issues related to copyright safe-harbors for user generated content sites. The case will be argued soon, so don’t miss this opportunity to learn about the issues from experts.

The speakers will include:
Moderator
Robert Kasunic, Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office

Any non-member who joins the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. immediately prior to registering for the event may attend for free. Attendance is $40 for non-members and Copyright Society members. Attendance is $25 for Student members of the Copyright Society. Any Copyright Society member who invites a guest who joins the Society immediately prior to registering for the event may attend at half price.

Registration materials and a membership application are at the following link.
http://www.csusa.org/chapters/dc/CSUSA%20DC%20EVENT%20July%202011.pdf

Space is limited. Please register early. The registration deadline is extended to July 25, 2011.

My partner, Larry Siskind, will be delivering his annual talk, “Nuts and Bolts of Trademark Law,” at the San Francisco Bar Association on July 14, 2011 at noon. I’ve attended this presentation before, and it is both informative and entertaining. All that and an hour of CLE credit to boot! You can view details and register here.

I will be a panelist at the upcoming First Annual Intellectual Property Litigation Committee Regional CLE Workshop on June 10, 2011 in Washington, D.C. The full-day program is sponsored by the ABA Section of Litigation Intellectual Property Litigation Committee and will feature panels on copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent topics. The Honorable Randall L. Rader, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, will deliver a lunchtime address. This is going to be a dynamite program and will be capped by a networking reception at the end of the day.

My panel is entitled “Buy, Buy, License? The First Sale Doctrine and What Happens When You Thought You Bought But You Didn’t.” Along with my fellow panelist, Cecil Key of Dickinson Wright, and our moderator, Michael Steger of the Law Offices of Michael Steger, we will address the recent UMG v. Augusto and Vernor v. Autodesk cases and their impact on the first sale doctrine.

For those who were unable to attend the Copyright Society’s Feburary 23, 2011 program “Protecting Intellectual Property in the Social Media Age” here in San Francisco, video of the program is now available on the Copyright Society’s website here. The panel was comprised of Kerry Hopkins, Senior IP Director at Electronic Arts; Warren Sampson, Social Media Coordinator at S. Martinelli & Co.; and Jason Schultz, Asst. Clinical Professor of Law in the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law; and was moderated by my partner, Lawrence J. Siskind of Harvey Siskind LLP.

We received terrific feedback from this program and I am pleased to spread the word that the video is now available online. Enjoy!

The Copyright Society of the U.S.A. is is presenting a program on protecting intellectual property in the social media age on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 in San Francisco. Panelists drawn from the business and academic communities will offer their views on how the social media revolution is affecting the way we protect our intellectual property rights.

About Naomi Jane Gray

Naomi Jane Gray is a principal in the law firm Shades of Gray Law Group, P.C., where she focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation, prosecution and counseling, with a particular emphasis on copyrights and trademarks.